10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas (Compilation #26)

Hey, everybody! I seem to have inadvertently returned to a banana-heavy round-up. But hey. We like bananas, right? Don't worry: there are plenty of non-banana things here if you don't like bananas. It's just probably a greater preponderance of banana than usual.

1. Savory Tempeh Breakfast Hash with Kale and Tomatoes (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

Isn't this pretty? And it got me eating greens in the morning! The recipe is from Well Vegan, but I substituted kale for the broccoli. It's a really satisfying savory breakfast option for a weekend morning--it does take a bit more time than many of my breakfasts, so be prepared for that if you do make it. I recommend steaming and marinating the tempeh the night before. I might add a splash of liquid smoke to the marinade next time--I think that would definitely add to the complexity of flavors here--but the tempeh still tasted great as it was. I guess I just like to tweak things.

2. Shredded Wheat with Yogurt and Bananas (Soy or Nut Free Options)

I hadn't had a big shredded wheat biscuit since I was a kid! But since they are just wheat, they're naturally vegan. I was doing a lot of reading in very old magazines and somehow heard the call of the old-fashioned breakfast of yesteryear or something. Although these are good with my usual soy milk for cereal, you can also have them with some non-dairy yogurt (get whatever yogurt fits your dietary needs--here I used almond milk yogurt) and sliced bananas. Can you taste the nostalgia?

3. Vanilla Amaranth Porridge with Spiced Peach Compote (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

The appearance of stone fruits is one of the best parts of summer! So as I focus on clearing out this pantry of mine, adding in the seasonal stuff makes it a lot more pleasant. This recipe is from MyRecipes, but I used soy milk instead of dairy and vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean. This was such a lovely balance of flavors, and a great summery porridge. I'd recommend a splash of creamer or some vanilla soy yogurt, too, if you have it on hand, just to take things to the next level.

4. Raspberry Lemon Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce (Soy Free)

If being totally isolated for over a year taught me anything, it taught me that I love lemons. (That was a weird lesson, maybe, but since I could only get lemons delivered if I bought them in quantity, I started using them a lot more.) These days, I'm always looking for new ways to use lemons, because I now just buy them in 2-pound bags, rather than occasionally buying a lemon or two. I got too used to having a ready supply of lemons. These pancakes have such a great lemon-raspberry flavor! It was perfect when raspberries came in season locally. I found the recipe for the pancakes and the sauce at the Delicious Plate. The sauce was a bit thin, I think, so I'd probably just go with stewed berries next time, but it doesn't hurt anything to shake things up, so I'm glad I made the sauce.

5. Banana-Almond Smoothie (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

I've discovered what almond extract does to smoothies and life will never be the same. This is an incredibly simple recipe from Bon Appetit, just almond milk, bananas, almond butter, and almond extract, but it tastes like the most amazing almond milkshake (to me; I might be weird and your mileage may vary). It's somewhat too light for me to have for breakfast on its own, so this gets paired with toast or graham crackers or something. So good.

6. Banana Maple Polenta (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

As I continue on in my quest to get through things, of course I'm continuing to explore sweet polenta since I have a huge bag of instant polenta to get through. Polenta cooked in half-soy milk, half-water with some vanilla and a teaspoon of sugar is a great base for bananas, maple syrup, and a dusting of cinnamon. The soy milk is important to me for the protein, and with that I don't need anything with this other than a bit of herbal tea.

7. Coconut Millet Porridge (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

I have continued to look for ways to use up my millet, so when I found this recipe that was easily veganized I went for it. I also love finding new ways to put cardamom in things, so that was a nice bonus! As suggested, I topped my porridge with toasted coconut, chopped pistachios, and some goji berries. The fact that I had these things on hand made me feel a tiny bit weird--it doesn't feel normal to just have everything on hand to whip up a bowl of spiced millet coconut porridge with such toppings--but such is life in my bunker, where I shut out the world, Delta variants and all.

8. Cherry Nectarine Cardamom Baked Oatmeal (Gluten Free)

As I've said before, I am always up for anything with cardamom, so of course I had to make this recipe when I found it! It wasn't vegan but it was easy to veganize with soy milk and some egg replacer (Bob's Red Mill, if it matters). I also cut the recipe down to fit in a toaster oven-sized dish. This is enough for me to either have twice (if I just eat the oatmeal for breakfast) or four times (if I have it with non-dairy yogurt, soy milk, and some orange juice). It's perfect for a make-ahead breakfast.

9. Banana-Stuffed Baked Aquafaba French Toast (Soy Free)

When looking for something to use up some aquafaba (I'm making a point of not throwing it out these days), I found this recipe for French toast at Forks Over Knives. I only made a single serving and baked it in my toaster oven. Rather than the aquafaba whipped cream, I topped it with some vanilla coconut yogurt, banana slices, maple syrup, and cinnamon. This is good, especially if you have bananas to use up, but be forewarned: It's not really that much like French toast, so appreciate it as its own thing.

10. Peanut Butter & Jelly Oatmeal (Gluten Free; Soy Free Option)

I know I've packed this for lunch many times, and yet I've never put it into a breakfast compilation! Prep a bowl of oatmeal per your usual method--I usually cook mine in soy milk with a pinch of salt--then top it with a spoon each of peanut butter and jelly (or in this case fruit preserves). It tastes even better if you let it cool a bit so that the peanut butter and jelly melt into it, which is why I so often enjoyed having it for lunch--a morning in an insulated jar kept it just warm enough.